Skips on the highway terms and conditions

Conditions of permit

1.  The builder's skip shall not exceed 5 metres in length and 2 metres in width and must comply with the appropriate Department of the Environment Construction and Use Regulations.

2.  Each skip shall be placed on the highway with its longer side parallel to the carriageway and as near to the edge of the carriageway as possible without obstructing the surface water drainage, fire hydrants, gullies, manholes or the apparatus of any of the statutory undertakers.

3.  Each skip shall not be placed within 14 metres of any authorised bus stop or road junction or positioned so as to contravene any traffic regulation order or obstruct a footway or footpath or obstruct access to any property without prior consent from the property owner.

4.  A minimum unobstructed carriageway width of 3.7 metres shall be maintained at all times.

5.  When more than one skip is to be placed on the highway at any one time they shall be positioned as close as possible to each other without contravening any of the above conditions.

6.  The ends of each skip shall be painted yellow and there shall be attached a strip of material the fixing and composition of which complies with the Builders' Skip (Markings) Regulations 1984 (broad red fluorescent and yellow reflecting diagonal strips) which shall be kept clean at all times.

7.  During the hours of darkness (that is to say that period between half an hour after sunset and half an hour before sunrise) a yellow lamp shall be fixed securely to each corner of the skip and the lighting, signing and guarding of the skip shall conform to the requirements of the Department for Transport's Chapter 8 Safety at Street Works and Roadworks Manual (published by H. M. Stationery Office) or as directed.

8.  No skip shall contain any inflammable, explosive, noxious, dangerous or other material that is likely to putrefy or is likely to become a nuisance to users of the highway.

9.  No skip shall be used in such a way that any of its contents fall onto the highway. Any spillage on the highway shall be removed at once.

10.  Each skip shall be removed for emptying as soon as practicable and in any case not later than 2 working days after it has been filled.

11.  Each skip shall be removed at the expiration of the period for which the permission has been granted and the highway shall be left in a clean and tidy condition and any damage to the highway shall be repaired to the satisfaction of the Executive Director of City Services or his representative.

12.  Skips provided in or around shopping centres shall be removed overnight or provided with lockable covers.

13.  Evidence of Public Liability Insurance Cover for a recommended minimum value of £5 million is required.

14.  The City of Sunderland shall be indemnified against any claim, actions, proceedings or loss or damage arising as a result of the presence of any skip hereby permitted.

Notes

(a)  Section 139 (4) of the Highways Act 1980 requires that the owner of a builder's skip which has been deposited on the highway ensures that the skip is properly lit during the hours of darkness, that it is clearly and indelibly marked with the owner's name and with his telephone number or address, that the skip is removed as soon as practicable after it has been filled and that each of the conditions of the highway authority's permission is complied with. Conviction of an offence under the subsection renders the owner liable to a fine not exceeding £100.

(b) Section 139 (3) of the Highways Act 1980 provides that nothing in the section shall be taken as authorising the creation of a nuisance or of a danger to users of the highway or as imposing on a highway authority by whom a permission has been granted under the section  any liability for any injury, damage or loss resulting from the presence on a highway of the skip to which the permission relates; and

(c) Section 140 of the Highways Act 1980 empowers the highway authority or a police officer to require the removal or repositioning or to remove or reposition a builder's skip deposited on the highway, even though it was deposited in accordance with the highway authority's permission, to recover from the owner the cost of such removal or repositioning, and to dispose of the skip which is not collected by its owner. Failure to comply with a request to remove or reposition a skip under the section may result in a fine not exceeding £50.

(d) "Owner" in relation to a builder's skip which is the subject of a hiring agreement, being an agreement of not more than one month, or a hire purchase agreement, means the person in possession of the skip under that agreement.